30-Minute Restaurant-Style Cashew Chicken

Forget about that takeout! Cashew chicken is SO easy and so much healthier to make at home, you’ll be making this 30-minute dinner multiple times a week!

Can you say dinner GOALS?? Because it’s pretty much all up in your face today. In all it’s 30-minute restaurant-style glory.

The back-to-school easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy dinner gods are cheesily smiling down on us today, you guys. Something amazing in dinner land is fixing to go down.

So I’m about to break something horribly embarrassing to you all now. This is like the first Chinese food recipe to EVER show it’s face on my blog. That’s likely because I’ll be the first to ashamedly admit that Chinese food is not my first choice for cuisine.

I tend to fall more along the lines of Italian/Mexican/Greek food-obsessed and therefore Chinese usually gets pushed to the back of the food line.

And I’m ashamed to say that that’s fine with me. Except for the serious fact that cashew chicken is the bomb.com and I can’t/won’t live without it.

For real, this copycat version is blowing.my.freaking.mind. My tastebuds have already been blown, FYI. Going, going, goooooooone.

So there are a few things you need to know about this cashew chicken, friends. One, is that it’s important that you follow my recipe instructions as directly as possible. If you don’t, you could end up with a flavorless sauce or soggy cashews and that would make me SUPER sad all around. My directions are EASY though and you shouldn’t have any trouble.

Number two is that it’s EXTREMELY important that you serve this chicken with truckloads of hot buttered steamed rice. I mean, this might be the most important step to this whole cashew chicken deal. Don’t skimp out on the whole restaurant-style experience, guys.

It’s what makes this takeout-less weeknight dinner so freaking fun.

And freaking delish. I mean, takeout might as well just go sit in the corner forever and never show it’s boxed-up face again.

So please tell me you’re gonna let this cashew chicken make your entire Thursday? I promise it will, and if for some ridiculous reason it doesn’t…

Forget about that takeout! Cashew chicken is SO easy and so much healthier to make at home, you'll be making this 30-minute dinner multiple times a week!

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-in cubes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 sweet pepper, diced

2 cups broccoli florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons agave syrup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup roasted cashews

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot rice for serving

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute chicken, garlic, sweet pepper, and broccoli in oil until veggies are just barely tender and chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat to medium.

In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with water, ginger, paprika, soy sauce, agave, and vinegar until smooth.

Add mixture to skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes. Add cashews and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with hot rice. Enjoy!